The invention relates generally to a bed tilting apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for titling or elevating the sides of a bed in order to shift and relieve pressure between a person and the bed.
When people are confined to a bed for extended periods of time, the lack of blood circulating as a result of the weight of the person pressing against the bed can lead to bed sores, pressure ulcers, Decubitus, and/or necrosis. A bedridden person must periodically shift or change positions in order to relieve the pressure between the person and the bed. Often an attendant is required to help periodically move the patient and thus relieve the pressure between the person and the mattress. Nurses or attendants generally slide wedge-shaped bolsters under alternating sides of the mattress to shift the person's position.
The problem of moving bed-ridden patients has also been previously addressed through the use of tilting or rocking beds. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,916 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,867, the entire bed tilts longitudinally in order to move the patient. Previous solutions also include mattresses that are longitudinally divided into sections that tilt or pivot, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,274.
The need exists for a device to raise the sides of a bed longitudinally that does not require the entire bed to be lifted off of the ground. The need also exists for a device that could be used on preexisting beds such that ordinary hospital and nursing home beds could be converted into elevating beds.